A weird, yet bright, light.

I have been having some issues with my students, as we all know.

However, I have a student who I like so much. He has a desire to learn English just for fun. He speaks pretty well due in equal parts to the amount of Chapelle's Show he watches and the amount of gangster rap he listens to. He has asked me so far what the words ¨hustler¨ and ¨crackie¨ mean. This is a fantastic student, you guys.

Oh, also, HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!! Sad to be missing another Thanksgiving at home, but we're having a huge American Thanksgiving dinner here tonight, and I'm making a corn thing. I'll be drowning my sorrows in cheap, amazing Spanish wine and turkey that came from god-knows-where. So excited. XD

Two things:

1) I saw a red VW beetle on the street the other day. I was staring at it because dark red is an unexpectedly tame color for a beetle and because I have a lot of time on my hands. I noticed that someone had keyed the car. Scrawled into the door of this beetle was the word 'PUTA.' It was shocking. I can't imagine what a VW owner would do that would enrage someone so much that she or he would scratch PUTA into their car door. I think I'm deeply affected by VW's marketing or something because I figure if this person owns a beetle, they're probably not all bad.

2) I have an intercambio every week with one of my students, Luis. Last night Luis called me "coño." I think that means we're friends? Oh, Spain.

I have to go eat a tostada with tomate. SO GOOD.

This Andalusian accent is a mess. It hasn't been that hard to understand (unless they're speaking really quickly) with most people, but I think that's mostly because I've been living with Spanish people, which helps my comprehension a lot.

Last weekend, Jacqueline, Natasha, and I went to Marbella. It's a beautiful little seaside town on the southern coast of Spain. It's also extremely touristy. Everything is expensive! To save money, we bought food from the grocery store and asked the hostel staff to heat it up for us. Yes, we had to eat our microwaved lasagna and packaged tortilla in the company of the hostel's 3 or 4 smelly resident dogs (who were allowed in the kitchen, puke), but it was worth it to have a weekend away. The first day, there was so much niebla (fog)!

Then we went out for the night of Halloween. It was fun! Our taxista on the way back had brought his guitar, so he played us the only English song he knew: Hotel California. That song will forever be associated with that night for me.

Jacqueline really wanted to go to Malaga, so we hit that for a day, and it was wonderful! Marbella was nice, but it completely lacked culture. There were so many British people and so much English! All the Spanish people we met in stores or restaurants were SO HAPPY that we spoke Spanish. Malaga was a nice change of pace. It seemed like Spanish people actually lived there. We couldn't see half the things we wanted to, though, because it was a festivo (day off). Poo.

Bye.

Spanish students are the laziest sons of...

What's WITH Spanish students? They're really breaking their necks trying NOT to learn anything in class. You know that feeling that you get in your head when your brain is working, and you feel a bit frustrated and uncomfortable? That's called THINKING. Do enough of that, and perhaps it will lead to some LEARNING.

GOD.

Beautiful Córdoba

Thoughts

1) So I think I found out where the ho stroll in Cordoba is today. I always walk down this street called Calle Rey Heredia to get to the part of town with all the shops, and I noticed there are always, without fail, girls sitting on the stoops of several buildings along the way. They're never talking to each other or doing anything. They just seem to be bored out of their minds, waiting for something...or someone? And, they are always vaguely provocative in their dress. Today as I was walking, I saw a girl sitting on a stoop wearing 5-inch (I guess) red strappy heels and a pair of coochie cutters and all of a sudden, it hit me. My route to the center of town takes me directly down the ho stroll. I don't know how I didn't put two and two together before. I need to get a map and find a new way to get to the center.

2) So Los Del Rio (that's right, the world-famous Spanish twosome who blessed the world with Macarena) are Andalucian. They're not from Cordoba, though; they're from Sevilla. Anyway, their name means "those from the river," right? And the "river" they're referring to is the Guadalquivir, which I can totally almost see from the window of my room. That tenuous connection to a thing that is famous for being terrible made me feel special for more than 10 seconds, which is embarassing. What I'm saying is everyone, please call me Macarena from now on.

3) Have the people here ever heard of pooper scoopers?!? I've seen more dog turds in the past three weeks than I had in all the years of my life prior to moving here. Walking to work, I have to maintain perfect vigilance lest I squish one and end up smelling faintly of poo for the rest of the day.

4) I think I'm obsessed with Fanta. Honestly, maybe four, five times a day I think, "Wow, I could really go for a tall, frosty Fanta right now."

5) This:

Masturbation from Nick Thune

I hate titles

My blog entries are really random, sorry. Organizing is annoying.

I'm at school, but I have a giant break. The weather is bad for the first time since I've been here in Córdoba. And, by ¨bad,¨I mean it's a little bit overcast. Nowhere near the impenetrable gray mass that looms over Bilbao for, like, ALL OF FALL. Looove it. The heat does get a little unbearable during the early afternoon, but I just stay inside and eat lunch, then maybe take a siesta--problem solved. When in Rome...

Yesterday, I spoke SO MUCH SPANISH. Turns out that most of the teachers here hardly speak a word of English. I definitely reviewed colors with one of them yesterday, and I taught the numbers 1-10 today. That's where they are, at the very beginning. I had to give the lessons about 97% in Spanish. Then, I had a couple hours of intercambio with two of my students after class. THEN, the neighbors next door came over for a visit and brought us ice cream, so I chatted with them for a while. Wow, was my mouth tired after all that. (That's what she said.)

But, I am glad about it. People in the south are more open and relaxed, so it's much easier to make friends/get people to talk to you. It's only been three weeks and I already feel vastly more confident speaking. Gone is that deer-in-the-headlights look/feeling when someone comes up to me and starts blabbing en español. Unless that person is Paco (one of the teachers). Seriously, who the hell knows what that guy is saying? It can't just be me.

This weekend, I'm planning to go to Baeza to pay Philip a visit (look at who's getting mentioned, get off my back!). It's a puente (three-day weekend).

Question

Why is it that Spanish people go out at like 1 or 2 AM and party until 6AM? Because they siesta. Why did I not see it before? It's all due to the siesta....

It's been a long day...

And it's only a little more than half over.

I went to the Subdelagacion del Gobierno today to renew my NIE card (makes me legal). Of course, it wouldn't just be that easy, would it? Now, I have to figure out something called an empadronamiento, which is, trust me, even less fun than it sounds. Ughhhhh bureacracy.

Random things.

- I went to a place called Duffin Dagels today. I think you can guess what it's a knockoff of (Dunkin' Donuts, okay?). The name made me laugh so hard I had to go in. I bought a doughnut and man, had I forgotten how delicious those things are. Deep fried goodness, mmm.

b. So, air quotes don't work in Spanish. I have realized this important fact. I do air quotes a lot, and I carry them with me when I'm speaking Spanish, but I'm fairly certain it only confuses people. I'm still going to do them, though. These Spanish people need to just get on the air quotes bandwagon.

3) I realized that I am right-footed. That left foot just isn't worth a damn.

End.

Hmm, hmm...

So today was my first day of "work." I got in touch with the head of the English Department yesterday (finally) and he knew nothing about me. I was like WTF. He told me to come in anyway this morning, so I did, and I met the head of the Bilingualism department, which is apparently who I needed to be talking to in the first place. Her name is Trinidad (cute), and she completely set me up with my sweet schedule and showed me around the school. Things that are already better about this school year:

1) I'm only working at one school, instead of two.
2) The school is a 10 minute walk away from my apartment instead of a 10 minute metro ride, then 45 minute bus, then 10 minute walk away.
3) My schedule doesn't change every week.
4) THE BEST: I'm working in the vocational school, not really the high school, so all my students will be above age 18 (whoo-hoo, no effing teenagers!!). Also, half my hours at the school are also just one-on-one classes with the teachers themselves. Trini is the only teacher who speaks English well, and all the others are just learning it now, so they need serious help.

I can't tell you how much I'm loving this situation.

Also, Monday we have an orientation, so I'll be getting to meet all the other people in the program, yay.

In other news, I have a big bed this year! It's soooo nice. Everything's coming up Milhouse.

I know it goes without saying, but....

Not being fluent in Spanish is kind of really annoying. I just can't get used to pretty much never being able to say precisely what I mean. Also, having people give me a look of pity when I'm trying to string ten words together. That part's not that fun. I think I might be a lot too sensitive about the whole thing, though, which isn't going to help me get any better.

Hopefully, this year will make a big difference for me. I've stuck myself in a situation where I can't help but improve, right? I'm living with nice people who speak little English in a city where most people speak little English and I don't know anyone (yet, at least). What a little recipe for Spanish fluency (or death from frustration-related head explosion) I've cooked up for myself. There are just SO MANY WORDS I don't know or can't recognize when people say them along with other words in quick succession. Crap.

I can't get in touch with my school and I'm supposed to start Thursday. CRAP.

End.

Piso hunt over.

FINALLY. A week and who knows how many dollars later, I'm finally typing this from an apartment that I live in. I'm sharing it with two Sevillana college students who are so sweet, it hurts. I love them a little bit. They bought me welcome presents! They're also putting up with my weird foreignness, so yay! I can already feel my Spanish getting better.

I met this German girl in the hostel who found her apartment in literally one day, and I can't lie. I was NOT happy for this girl. I was bitter. Just wanted to mention that.

I'm going to try to visit my school tomorrow, perhaps? One of these days before school actually begins (Thursday).

I am way tuckered out from all the worrying I did today over whether or not this apartment thing was going to come through. I was waiting for the girls to get in touch with me when they came back from Sevilla this evening and I was worried that something would have changed. I worried myself sick for nothing. Yeah, though...tired....going to bed. Not in a hostel (THANK GOD).

First Day in Cordoba

Hey, look at me, making updates, wow. (FYI this keyboard is weird, so this post will not contain any apostrophes.)

SO...yesterday I made the journey to Cordoba. I took a taxi from my apartment to the bus station, so the two hands-three suitcases situation hadnt yet become a problem. When I got to Madrid, I knew I was screwed. I had to drag the luggage to the exit in turns, and that was working, slowly, but surely. However, we all know that if a girl looks clueless for long enough, some guy will eventually offer to help. And thats what happened. Some dude was like, "ehhh...te ayudo?" and I was like, "POR FAVOR, joder." He helped me allll the way to the train station, which was so nice! Ah, the kindness of strangers.

Every time I take a trip, my big suitcase breaks in some way. I think this trip was the final nail in the coffin, though. I accidentally tore the flap (the part that closes with a zipper) almost completely off while lifting it. RIP big suitcase.

Cordoba is very...weird.

1) All the men look more like Humpty Dumpty than Antonio Banderas, Im noticing.

2) Could the street names be longer or more Catholic? Calle de la Virgen Milagrosa, Campo de Madre de Dios, Calle del Periodista Ricardo Rodriguez. Why cant they just keep it simple?

3) The weather is absolutely gorgeous. I left an overcast and rainy Bilbao to come here, where there isnt even one cloud in the sky. I appreciate that.

4) Why are there so many old people everywhere? Dont they have special homes for them? Im going to hell for that, arent I?

Those are all my observations for today. Must go look at some apartments. Wish me luck!

Moving

So, it's been a while.

I'm moving to Cordoba tomorrow morning. I figured this was as good a time as any to get back into the blog swing. I'm pretty much all packed. It's going to be an interesting trip because I've got three suitcases and oh, dear me, only two arms. WHY DO I OWN SO MANY THINGS? I still can't whittle it down to just two suitcases even though I took loads of stuff home a few months ago.

The summer has been so wonderful. It was the first true summer vacation I've had in maybe 6 years. I didn't waste time desperately counting down the weeks, days, and hours until Fall. I relaxed intensely and now I'm mentally ready for a new school year to begin.

My dear mother is sending me a new camera battery, which I will receive on Tuesday, so I'll be able to take pictures again! XD She is the bessssst.

I'm in the process of applying to grad schools. I was overwhelmed by all that I had to do at the beginning. I've made some decisions and taken some important first steps, though, such as narrowing down schools, picking who I would get recs from, and taking the GRE (pretty much with a shotgun held to my head by my mother). I don't feel so nervous about it anymore! I've set myself some deadlines, which also helps.

I have to get some rest for my verrrry long and trying day tomorrow. Bye! <3

Otra cosita...

Last week was my last week at Urritxe, and everyone was being very sweet about it. Some of my classes made me big posters they'd decorated with their pictures and huge block letters that spelled out "AGUR LADAUN!!" So cute! They all wrote little messages, as well, and here are examples:

"The work that you did in this school is important for me because it is the first time that I meet an original American."
- Iñaki

"Good Bye, Miss Jackson. We had fun with you, because you are a very good teacher. I will remember this experience, because I've learnt many things, so thank you for all, have a good travel and be happy always, because you have done a very good work here."
- Alexander

"Dear Ladaun: Your time here has been funny. You should come next year because you are a very nice person. With you we have learnt many things about life in Florida and we want that you know, that those days have been funny with you. See you later!"
- Miren

"Hello Ladaun: How are you??? We are bored because you go back to Florida. We are going to miss you!!! You are a very nice person. Bye-bye!!! Kisses."
- 1DBHD (a whole class)

Oh. My. God. How cute are they?!

Also, the teachers I work with (Amaia, Gemma, Felix, and Izaskun) gave me a surprise present as well. So nice!

Una cosita

Yesterday, I did a physical thing. I went with my friend, Milenka, her roommate, Joseba, and 3/4 of Joseba's cuadrilla to a place called Urdaibai for canoeing. It was kind of spur of the moment, and had I thought longer about the amount of constant movement canoeing would entail, I might have politely refused. HOWEVER, I did not, and I consequently had one of the best "outdoorsy" experiences I have ever had. Who could have guessed exercise would be so rejuvenating? Urdaibai was so lovely and the weather was absolutely perfect. I wanted to bring my camera, but the battery died and I had lent my charger to Milenka, so I don't have any evidence.

Anyway, afterward, we were starving. Julen asked me, "te gusta el pollo?" I thought to myself, what kind of question is that? Who doesn't like chicken? But, actually, chicken isn't so popular here, so it was very possible that I would have some kind of chicken aversion. The Basques are more of a pork people. Anyway, we went to this asador (type of restaurant) and shared a bunch of the best roasted chicken I've ever had. Then, I came home and fell immediately asleep for a solid four hours. All in all, a great day.

Good News.

Lately, everything's coming up LaDaun.

1. I just got word from a friend who lives in the center of the city that, once I iron out the details with the landlady, I'll most likely be able to move into his and his girlfriend's apartment in July when they vacate it. I'm SO EXCITED. Yes, the apartment is up like SIX flights of stairs with no elevator (moving in will be a bitch), and apparently you get a maximum of 8 minutes of hot water for a shower, but those are really the only disadvantages. I'd be living by myself in an adorable apartment (with a breakfast nook) in the middle of Bilbao for a bargain price. Yes, I'd prefer to have roommates, but I'd rather have no roommates than bad ones. Cross your fingers for me that it works out. It would also mean that I could relax from now on and not have to stress about apartment hunting before I go back to Florida for two weeks.

2. My summer plans are starting to shape up. I'm planning to go to La Tomatina in August and that's going to be awesome.

3. I got assigned to Andalucia next year! I'm shocked the program gave me my first choice of region this time. We still don't know our cities or schools, and they've promised to let us know by June, but I'm not holding my breath. The idea of doing this year all over again is both frightening and exhilarating. One positive thing about next year is that I won't have to deal with SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder), which I diagnosed myself with this past November. Also, Philip is joining the madness and is moving to Andalucia on the same beca. I can't wait!

4. I've started studying for the GRE. Well, I've started intending to study for the GRE. Why? Well, first, Liz has started studying for it, and when Liz does something, you know it's a good idea. Second, I realize that I'm going home in 5 weeks and then I probably won't be home again for another good 11 months (May of 2010 is my projected "come back for good" date). I would just take the test in Spain, but I would have to venture to a city like Madrid or Barcelona to take it. What's more, I seriously don't trust the Spanish system of anything enough to feel confident they'd get my scores out to the right people in a timely fashion. So I've got 5 weeks or so to get passably good at math again. UGHHH.

That is all.

Kids these days.

These past few months have filled me with a burning hatred toward teenagers. They are the WORST. Worse than 'tweens, worse than toddlers, because they LOOK like adults, and they THINK they're adults, but they certainly don't act like it. Disrespectful ingrates, the lot of them.

End of rant.

All the faces seem to need a slap.

I'm going to post about my Semana Santa trip soon. I swear!

1) I'm reading Twilight. Actually, it's Crepusculo, because I'm reading it in Spanish. Don't you dare judge me! I'm only reading it to help my vocabulary. Already I've learned that aterciopelada means "velvety" and empapada means "soaked." See? SEE?? I'm not one of those Twilight people. It's not like I love Robert Pattinson or anything. I certainly don't spend precious hours of my time watching videos of him on Youtube. Now, that would be ridiculous. I'm much too important, glamorous, and international for a schoolgirl crush. Pff. Hah. HAH!

2) I only have 5 weeks of school left and 7 weeks of living in Bilbao left. Oh...my...god. El tiempo vuela! It's shocking. Honestly, the end of school can't come quickly enough because I'm out of ideas and motivation for teaching those bastard teenagers. Actually, I'm not going to have any Batxillerato students from here on out because they have to prepare for their big end-of-the-year exam, so they can't waste their time playing English Pictionary with the American girl. Kind of sucks, because I'll be stuck with the ESO kids (ages 12-16) for the next five weeks. Maybe I should do a lesson about Zac Efron. That might work.

Sidenote (in case anyone cares): Batxillerato students are between 17 and 18 years old. Actually, I have some super senior 21-year-olds...Anyway, Batxillerato is similar to the last two years of high school in the US, but here in Spain, they're not mandatory. You go to ESO (high school) and then at 16 you decide if you want to continue with your formal education (Batxiller) or go to vocational school or quit because your uncle has a cushy job prepared for you in his taller (workshop) or something.

3) I've misplaced (or someone has stolen) my iPod. It's been a sad week without it. Sigh. I always felt I was on borrowed time with that thing.

Yesterday

Yesterday I went to something called an Artesan Cheese Fair. Could anything sound more delicious?? And yes, there were free samples! I ate the moldiest blue cheese ever, and it made me tear up. I also accidentally hit on the cheese guy behind one of the counters. Sigh, when will the language based shame END?

Recently

My sister's visit:

My sister came to visit last week. She lucked out with the weather both in Bilbao and in Sevilla. I took her to various places to eat and drink (which is apparently all I do here). We saw the park, went to the coast, ate pintxos, etc. She didn't like much Basque food, unfortunately. What kind of person doesn't like chorizo? My god. It was really nice to see a face from home. I was starting to get pretty homesick, but I think I'm cured. I also took her to the Jamaican bar, where she had a ball laughing and pointing at the "Ja-fakins" (i.e., fake Jamaicans).

Sevilla:

One word: Gorgeous. I was outside in just a cardigan and I had to take it off because I was too hot. Let me say that again in all caps: I HAD TO TAKE IT OFF BECAUSE I WAS TOO HOT. I'm just trying to impress upon you how astonishing this was after six months of living in effing Bilbao. The idea of venturing outdoors in just a sleeveless shirt and shorts seemed to me tantamount to leaving the house in my underwear. On the first day, my sister, Milenka, Dom, and I ate a cheap menu del dia on a busy street. We drank I don't know how much sangria and people watched and the sun toasted my shoulders and I got sooo sleepy. What a perfect day! That's pretty much my idea of heaven. A lazy day spent eating and drinking and being with people whose company you enjoy, and then a nap. Yes.

The next night, we saw some authentic (?) flamenco. I hate to be that tourist who sees flamenco and is "forever changed" and goes on and on about it, but...it was really awesome. I thought it would be cheesy and stupid, but it was worth getting a little lost in a sketchy part of town (i.e. risking our lives, and by "lives" I mean "purses") at 10PM to see it.

So yeah, deeeefinitely applying to switch to Andalucia next year. Just a taste of it wasn't enough. The weather alone is enough to make me want to pack my bags immediately. Growing up in Florida really ruins you for living in cold climates. I can deal with it for a while, and yeah, I've gotten used to it on a day-to-day basis, but I'm definitely never going to settle anywhere that has real winters if I can help it. Whenever I tell someone who isn't from Florida that, they mention the hurricane problem that we have as a deterrent to moving back to Florida, but if you grow up with hurricanes happening all the time, they're just not that big a deal. Am I right, Floridians?

Athletic:

Two nights ago, Bilbao Athletic Club played a really important match, and everyone here went bananas. It was quite a sight to see and I regretted not having brought my camera out. Football is like their religion.

There was something else I wanted to write about, but it's slipped my mind. Meh.

Yeah, yeah, I know.

So, I've gone and done it. I've become one of those people who SWEAR that they'll never allow a month or two to go by between posts on their fabulous international blog, but fail spectacularly. Things get in the way! I've been busy living, and it's difficult to find time to sit down for an hour (yes, that's how long it takes to make the entry not crap) writing and uploading pictures. I have more important things to attend to than informing the internet of my every move. I'll make a real update soon. I lent Milenka my camera cords, so I can't upload any pictures right now anyway.

Note: My sister is coming to visit on Saturday and I'm so excited! Carnaval is this weekend (I'm dressing as a Ghostbuster even though I have never seen the movie), I get next week off work, my sis is coming, we're going to Sevilla, and the weather should be awesome! It couldn't get any better.

Delft and Amsterdam

Hi there, folks. Here's the next installment of Xtreme Xmas Trip 2008:

Day 3:
- Nice little breakfast at the hostel.
- Phe had graciously offered to take us to Delft, a quaint little town about 10 minutes by train from Rotterdam. Famous expensive ceramic pieces with blue scenes painted on come from there. A sea of bikes confronts us as we exit the train:
- We saw a crazy old windmill:
- We did some sightseeing. Notice that this sweet church below is tilted to the right because it's falling over!



- Phe took us for lunch at a sandwich restaurant and we had an impassioned discussion about the clear superiority of Dutch bread to all other breads.
- We went to Nieuwe Kerk, where we climbed a seemingly endless set of stairs to the tower at the tippy top. I slammed my head against a wooden beam during this ascent, which made it all the more enjoyable. The reward was the beautiful view at the end. You can see Rotterdam in the distance in this picture.

- After we got back from Delft, the boys went to find fries slathered with mayonnaise while the girls went to Phe's place to watch the season finale of The Hills. That show has gotten fake to the point of hilarity.
- When we got back, we went to dinner at Rick's apartment, made with love by Phe. She made us a traditional Dutch dinner of stooompefelllsomething or other...the name isn't important, it was delish. In the corner of the picture below, you can also see a bottle of the best Chardonnay ever.
- Post-dinner, Vince and Jelle take us to a nearby bar, where there is a serious sausage fest happening. This is when I really realized how tall Dutch people are. I swear, no one in the bar (women included) was under 5'8". I don't remember seeing even one guy who was noticeably shorter than me.

Day 4:

-Vince accompanies us on a train to Amsterdam!
- For lunch, I eat a broodje kroket and some fries with pindasaus (peanut sauce, but it's much cuter in Dutch).
- Vince gets us to try raw herring with onions, which is some kind of Dutch delicacy. It was verrrry interesting.

- We get to our hotel (no, not a hostel) and it's not too bad, but I wish it would have had a common room/kitchen.
- We meet our weird French roommate who we all feel is staring at us.
- Went out to a bar and decided that I needed to do karaoke with Katie in the near future.
- Found a Chinese noodle restaurant and devoured bowls of noodles/rice.

Day 6:
- IT'S CHRISTMAS!!
- Apparently Katie had had a rough night due to our creepy roommate walking around all night, smoking weed in the bathroom, breathing hard, turning on the lights, eating things, etc. I slept through everything. Eventually, he left at like 3AM. Weird.
- Van Gogh museum.
- Went for Mexican food for dinner. Very good! We saw the restaurant cat kill a mouse, which was subsequently swept INTO the kitchen, wtffff?!
- Got some warmedranken and free oliebollen!
- Went ice skating, but Olga wasn't a big fan...I'd had my fill after about 15 minutes of it, too. How many times can you go around in a circle? We did get to see a couple (?), who were FAR too inebriated to be ice skating fall all over each other laughing, though. Katie loved it:

Day 7:
- Bikes, bikes, bikes. We rented bikes. Awesome.
- Had a tasty vegetarian breakfast.
- Went to the torture museum with Jaron and Kyle while Olga and Katie went to the Rijksmuseum.

- Dinner at a Greek restaurant. The waiter hates us pretty much immediately and our food doesn't come for like FORTY minutes.
- Bye, bye Holland!

Rotterdam

Well, I'm back from my absolutely lovely vacation. Katie, Kyle, Jaron, Olga, and I went to Rotterdam, Delft, Amsterdam, Brussels, Bruges, Ghent, and Barcelona over a span of 12 days. It was, in a word, awesome. Now, how to distill the experience for the benefit of my avid readers...I think I'll do several posts, each one dedicated to a portion of the trip. Let's start at the beginning with Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Here are my notes:

Day 1:
- We traveled for 20 hours, and I slept on the floor of an airport for the first (and hopefully, last) time in my life.
- When we arrived, Katie immediately introduced us to some kind of weird Dutch cookie called a stroopwafel. Jaron goes insane for appelbollen. Dutch food is unexpectedly delicious.
- Our host with the most, Vincent, a friend of Katie's, met us at the train station and took us to our hostel.
- The hostel was awesome, and cheap!
- We meet Katie's other friends, Phe and Rick (a.k.a. "Pretty Ricky")

- They take us in a water taxi across the river to a place called Hotel New York. The driver of the water taxi was a legend. He had a singing turkey on the dashboard to "make us feel more at home." Still not sure how that makes any sense, but it was sweet. This is a picture of Kyle and me trying not to die in the water taxi.

- Along the way, we get a good look at the Erasmusbrug:

- At the hotel, we drink Heineken and eat bitterballen, which are SO tasty. All food in Holland apparently comes in the form of a deep-fried ball, and I'm NOT complaining.
- Rick, Phe, and Vince take us for all-you-can-eat sushi! What am amazing idea. I had been missing sushi something awful. We learn the following Dutch words:

1) gezellig - apparently, there is no adequate English translation for this word. The closest is "cozy."

2) swaffel - I beg you to Google this. It was the word of 2008 in Holland by popular vote and it became the word of this entire trip for us.

3) proost - cheers!

4) biertjes - beers

- We go back to Vince's place and meet Jelle, whose awesomeness words cannot describe. He was SO DUTCH. His computer desktop background was a picture of him shirtless and wet emerging from an unknown body of water.
- Observation: Why are all Dutch people tall and gorgeous?! How do they manage to speak perfect English, every last one of them?? They are seriously the sweetest people. Everyone we met was helpful and open and no one seemed to have an attitude problem. I have never felt so at home in a strange country as I did in Holland, and most of the credit for that goes to our wonderful hosts. Thank you!

Day 2:
- We had a new roommate, who was a weird, older guy. He pretended to count his change 10 or 12 times as he watched me get dressed, hoping I might accidentally flash him. Sicko. I got dressed in the bathroom from then on.
- We went to Albert Heijn (grocery store) and Katie made us kip (chicken) sandwiches.
- Went to the art museum and managed to miss the entire third floor.

- Went to Het Park. No sun, but it was still pleasant. I was trying to carry on my sister's tradition of visiting the nearest park whenever you travel.

- We walked around, taking in the sights. We had coffee, pastries, and saw someone making poffertjes. We saw this shirt, which made our day (It says "I am the swaffel King):
- We met up with our hosts and went to Vince's apartment, where he made us lasagna! We listened intently to stories about Sinter Klaas (Dutch Santa, or as they would probably say, the original Santa).
- We discussed Bob Ross, an 80s TV show called Air Wolf, which I had never heard of before that night, and Chuck Norris.
- We learned that the worst insult you can hurl at someone in Dutch is kanker hoer, which means "cancer whore." According to Rick, the Dutch are the best at cursing because they curse you with diseases, such as cholera, and typhus.
- We played Dutch charades, which is far and away superior to American charades. During the course of this game, we learned that in Holland, Big Bird is blue!

That's all for this portion of the trip!